June 7, 2009

Adultery Offsets versus Carbon Offsets

Carbon offsets, though much maligned, are an excellent idea. If you want to help reduce carbon emissions, consider buying some."

How simple, how cheap: continue to consume the way we always have, but spend a few dollars to neuter the effect. Marvelous. Makes you wonder what all that extreme weather event hysterics is all about, doesn't it? We already have a solution. No biggie.

Robert H Frank is miffed at the flippancy, and what he considers to be an awfully misleading analogy, offered by adultery offsets at Cheat Neutral.

"When you cheat on your partner you add to the heartbreak, pain and jealousy in the atmosphere.

Cheatneutral offsets your cheating by funding someone else to be faithful and NOT cheat. This neutralises the pain and unhappy emotion and leaves you with a clear conscience.

First you should look at ways of reducing your cheating. Once you've done this you can use Cheatneutral to offset the remaining, unavoidable cheating."

According to Rob:

"The site’s founders say they wanted to use humor to demonstrate why the market for carbon offsets is a moral travesty.

But the criticism is misguided. If our goal is to reduce carbon emissions as efficiently as possible, offsets make perfect economic sense."

Total calorific offsets would have seen you a wealthy, retired businessman by now.

And cabbage?

Come on!

Matching up one starving Somalian with one obese Australian would offset almost limitless gratuitous calorie consumption.

And what about cocaine and heroin addicts, not to mention aspiring models? Finally these down-trodden groups of people can contribute to the social fabric and well being of society. They are ready made calorie offset collectives just waiting to be put to good use!